Herbert appointed to school review
Peel board grappling with racism complaints
The province has named a veteran public servant as well as a noted human rights lawyer to look into allegations of racism and trustee dysfunction at the Peel school board.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce made the announcement on Wednesday, appointing Suzanne Herbert — who took part in a similar probe of the York Region board in 2017 — and Ena Chadha, who chairs the Human Rights Legal Support Centre and is a former vice-chair of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
Peel, the province’s second largest board, has recently been grappling with complaints of racism and deep divisions among elected officials, and reached out to the ministry last month for assistance.
“Schools must be safe, inclusive and welcoming places, not only for students and their families, but for the entire community, which is why the need for this review is critical,” Lecce said. “We are moving forward with the appointment of two reviewers — Ms. Herbert and Ms. Chadha — as part of our efforts to combat racism and help ensure all children feel respected in schools. We want all students, parents, educators and staff to see themselves reflected in their schools and school boards, and this review will help the (Peel board) move forward in this mission.”
Lecce has asked Herbert and Chadha to begin their work immediately and file their interim findings by the end of this year, and their final report before next spring.
Herbert is a former deputy minister in several ministries — including education — in the late 1990s until she retired in 2008.
She and Patrick Case were assigned the difficult job of looking into the York Region District School Board two years ago, amid infighting among trustees, questions around the conduct of the director of education, improper trustee behaviour and numerous complaints and human rights cases involving allegations of antiBlack racism.
Chadha, who has also worked as a mediator at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, was also director of litigation with ARCH Disability Law Clinic, and frequently speaks and writes about issues of gender, race, disability and harassment.